In the wage dispute between Volkswagen and IG Metall, both sides want to inform the public independently of each other at the same time. After five days of negotiations, the company is inviting the public to a press conference in Berlin at 6.30 pm on Friday evening. At exactly the same time, the IG Metall trade union wants to inform the public - in a separate press conference at the negotiating venue in Hanover.
Representatives of VW and the trade union have been struggling to find a solution to the dispute over wage cuts, plant closures and redundancies in a hotel there since Monday. Participants recently spoke of progress in the negotiations, but no agreement has yet been reached. According to reports in "Bild" and "Handelsblatt", the Presidium of the VW Supervisory Board was due to discuss the matter in the afternoon.
At the Volkswagen press conference, statements are expected from brand boss Thomas Schäfer and Group HR Director Gunnar Kilian. No further details were initially known.
VW and IG Metall had set themselves the goal of reaching an agreement by Christmas despite their widely divergent positions. The main points of contention are the plant closures and compulsory redundancies brought into play by VW. IG Metall had described both as "red lines" that should not be crossed. The union also rejected the across-the-board wage cut of ten percent demanded by VW.
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